tonight, breaking news. the party that turned into a deadly inferno. at least nine dead, dozens still unaccounted for. the frantic search for the missing happening right now. >> i hope he's okay. >> the warehouse went up in flames in seconds. just one way out. the only exit, blocked. >> this is a devastating scene. >> tonight, the investigation revealing just how unsafe this building really was. donald trump's diplomatic blunder? the reactions pouring in after his unprecedented call with taiwan. china launching a complaint. so, did the president-elect shatter decades of protocol? the murder mystery at a popular california university. a psychology professor stabbed to death, his student under arrest.

18-wheeler. the big question for investigators tonight? where were the seat belts? and roaring on the green. could this be tiger woods' storybook comeback? good evening. and thank you for joining us. on this saturday. i'm cecilia vega. we begin tonight with that breaking news in oakland, california. a warehouse party that turned into a deadly inferno. tinderbox, burning in near seconds. the scene so horrific, authorities at this hour are still searching for the missing. at least nine people killed, dozens unaccounted for. party-goers trapped on the second floor as the flames devoured that building. it was a gathering place where many artists lived and worked. tonight, details about the victims are just beginning to emerge. and now, questions about just how unsafe this building may have been.

the only stairway out blocked? and there were past building code violations? our neal karlinsky has been on the scene all day, and he starts us off tonight. >> reporter: it was 11:32 p.m. when the first calls came in. a party at this oakland warehouse and artists' collective was exploding into an inferno, flames ripping through windows. firefighters could be seen breaking in with pickaxes. bob mule, one of the lucky few to make it out, tried to rescue a man calling out for help. >> i was pulling him out, he was a larger gentlemen. and there was a lot of stuff in the way, the flames were -- too much. too much smoke and i had to [ bleep ] -- i had to let him -- i -- >> you believe he's still in there right now? he never made it out? >> i haven't seen him and there's been flames shooting out of the building for the past

>> reporter: by daybreak, the devastation was beyond what anyone expected. the entire roof collapsed. >> we did not have a lot of victims go to the hospital. it appears that people either made it out or they didn't make it out. >> reporter: body bags marking some of the dead. officials say nearly all of them appear to have been trapped on the second floor. there for a party featuring electronic music by an act called golden donna. pictures from before the fire show a cluttered maze of art studios, mannequins, carpets and furniture inside. a virtual tinderbox. officials believe the victims became trapped on that second floor, engulfed within minutes. the only exit, a makeshift stairwell constructed with wooden pallets, quickly overtaken by flames, leaving no way out. >> this is a devastating scene. this is complicated. and it is going to take us time

that these families deserve. >> reporter: the warehouse, known as the oakland ghost ship, was well known as an eclectic gathering of artists, some even living inside. records show a slew of complaints that were under investigation, including trash piling up, numerous code violations, illegal housing. in fact, officials believe it's the building's ragtag layout, including no evidence of sprinklers, that may have played the biggest role into the huge loss of life. >> and neal joins us live from the scene. neal, one investigator said she hadn't seen anything like this in her 30 years on the job. so, do investigators have any clues about what started this fire? >> reporter: cecilia, it's just so early for them to know, but at this hour, they don't believe this is a case of arson. they think it was an accident, possibly an electrical fire. there was an active investigation ongoing at the

broke out. and now within the last hour, they've had to pull firefighters out and pause their search for the missing, because the building is still just so unsafe. cecilia? >> so many questions tonight still. neal, thank you for your reporting. and for the family and friends of the missing, the wait right now is excruciatexcruciat. what's left of that building was, for hours too unsafe for authorities to enter. but now, the search for survivors is under way, with many fearing for the absolute worst. abc's lauren lyster has more. >> reporter: tonight, the agonizing wait so many wondering if their loved ones were at the party and survived the blaze. >> we have friends. we're still searching for people. we've got, like, friends and family. we're contacting people. we'll just know as the day goes on. >> i just want to know something. >> reporter: alex vega and his girlfriend, makela gregory, missing tonight. his family telling abc news through tears they are praying

unaccounted for, what if they already have his body? at least let me know that. >> reporter: many of those inside, part of a tight-knit group, including terry ewing's girlfriend. friends came to his house this morning to tell him about the fire. >> there's a lot of family in there. people in that place are very loved. we're hoping for the best. >> reporter: more than two dozen people are still missing. their loved ones desperate and turning to social media for help. >> i just read on facebook that mike and the kids are okay, and that was my biggest concern. >> reporter: sally burton searching for her brother, posting these pictures on facebook, saying, "if anyone knows or has heard anything, please let me know." there's still no time frame when authorities will be able to identify the victims, but tonight, the oakland mayor says, that is their number one priority, calling this fire an immense tragedy. cecilia? >> a tragedy indeed. lauren, thank you. we do now want to turn to politics, and donald trump at

controversy. the president-elect turning decades of protocol upside down with his ten-minute phone call with taiwan. the reaction pouring in, including from china. needless to say, beijing is not happy. the latest on the phone flap, from abc's david wright. >> reporter: tonight, the ten-minute phone call with global repercussions. >> china. china. what china is doing to us is horrible. >> reporter: having provoked china plenty out on the campaign trail, donald trump broke with four decades of u.s. foreign policy by taiwanese counterpart. the president of taiwan called me today to wish me congratulations on winning the presidency," he tweeted. "thank you." but ever since nixon, the u.s. recognizes one china, the people's republic, which considers taiwan to be a breakaway province. today, beijing lodged an official protest. "uh-oh," tweeted former bush press secretary ari fletcher. "i wasn't even allowed to refer to the government of taiwan.

secretary of state nominee on board," tweeted democratic senator chris murphy. "preferably with experience. like, really, really soon." >> president-elect trump is fully briefed and fully knowledgeable about these issues, on an ongoing basis, regardless of who is on the other end of the phone. >> reporter: and trump is also drawing fire from one of his own allies. s sarah palin, said to be a candidate for a cabinet post, save jobs at carrier. palin said, "the government has no business in meddling in the free market," calling that "crony capitalism" and "corporate welfare." of course, the workers losing their jobs see it differently. >> these business models that they're practicing over here, moving these jobs out of the country, may look good on wall street but it looks like hell for main street, i can tell you that right now. >> it's greed. >> pure greed. >> reporter: these men work at ipping jobs to mexico.na factory trump is now speaking up for them, saying their bosses are

>> and david joins us now, live from trump tower. david, this was not the president-elect's only controversial call with a foreign leader? >> reporter: not by a long shot, cecilia. also today, the president of the philippines said that during his call with trump, trump praised his controversial anti-drug program. now, this is a program where police have killed more than 2,000 people. the u.n. and the u.s. have condemned that program. cecilia? >> okay, david, thank you. and tomorrow on "this week," vice president-elect mike pence will be speaking about this and so much more. george stephanopoulos also goes one-on-one with general david petraeus, as the trump transition team ramps up. turning now to new details in that deadly road rage attack that took the life of a former nfl player. joe mcknight killed at a louisiana gas station. tonight, his family and a community demanding answers. and now, police are revealing that the man accused of that shooting was involved in another

tonight, why the law may be on his side. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: tonight, growing outrage about that deadly road rage shooting. >> i want answers. i want the truth to come out. >> reporter: as new details emerge about this man, ronald gasser, seen on the ground in cuffs. police say gasser admitted shooting former nfl running back joe mcknight. now abc news learning, gasser was arrested for a violent fight during a road rage incident in 2006 at a gas station at the same intersection where mcht was killed. charges from the earlier incident were dropped. mcknight's family and supporters in the community incensed his killer is not in custody, and has not been charged in connection to mcknight's death. >> it doesn't have anything to do with race. it's not a white or black thing. it's a right or wrong thing. >> reporter: the sheriff telling abc news, mcknight was out of his car, not armed when gasser fired those shots. >> we will leave no stone unturned. >> reporter: and says charging gasser before a thorough investigation is completed would

>> under louisiana law, looking at justifiable homicide, if you are in your vehicle and someone attempts to enter it, i'm going to presume that for a second, he's justified in shooting him. >> reporter: mcknight's family, overcome with emotion. >> i lost a friend. i lost my everything. >> reporter: the family telling us tonight, they want an independent autopsy, and say they want this classified as a hate crime. cecilia? >> okay, eva, thank you. next, to a shocking crime on a california campus. a popular psychology professor stabbed to death, and tonight, wouc one of his students accused of his murder. more from abc's gloria riviera. >> reporter: the usc campus, tonight a crime scene. >> the victim is a faculty member and the suspect is a student. >> reporter: police surrounding the building where that professor was killed. students receiving text alerts, warning them to stay away from the building where the alleged attack took place. >> it was a very scary reaction for me, at first, when i heard this news.

scene, the victim of multiple stab wounds. >> this was not a random act. >> reporter: police say the alleged attacker is 28-year-old david brown, one of just five students working in tjan's lab. one classmate was shocked when he heard the news, saying that dr. tjan was well-liked on campus. >> he was a very charismatic individual. he was a very important part of the development of everybody that he worked with. >> reporter: police say brown was arrested without incident and that the motive was a personal dispute. he is being held on a million dollar bail. cecilia? >> gloria, thank you. next, to massachusetts tonight. firefighters there battling a massive ten-alarm fire outside boston. the fast-moving blaze breaking out in cambridge this afternoon. eight buildings, some residential, and several cars burning. the thick smoke spreading all over the boston area. two people suffered minor injuries. no word on the cause.

smoldering, as the death toll today rose to 15 people. hot spots there still a concern, but much-needed rain is on the way. from texas to mississippi, a wet weekend. this flooded street in texas city. and rob marciano is here tracking it all. we've got more rain on the way. >> reporter: and already, this has been the wettest december day on record in galveston. over nine inches in spots. flash flood watches up. southeast texas, over the next 24 hours, will see quite a bit more rain. and hw could to see six to eight-plus. and this does get into the tornado and fire zone, as well. let's time out the rain. we get another pulse of it rolling across the deep south, getting up into louisiana and alabama, mississippi and georgia. but look at the snow getting into chicago. you may wake up to snow in chicago and detroit throughout the day tomorrow. this moves to the east on tuesday and wednesday. >> okay, thanks, rob, good to see you. how about a golf story? you like golf. >> let's do it. a comeback story in the world of sports. after several injury-plagued years, tiger woods is back on

claiborne has more. >> reporter: it was tiger woods. looking a whole lot like the tiger woods who once dominated golf. >> good-looking swing. >> reporter: at the hero world challenge in the bahamas, his first tournament back from a 15-month layoff, because of back problems, woods came out on fire today. >> oh, yeah. how about this? >> look at this. >> reporter: tiger also seemed relaxed, and smiling, as he strolled the crs though he did struggle toward the end of the round. still, it's been a surprising display. >> overall, i mean, i'm just -- i'm so happy to be back out here and competing again and fighting against these guys. it's been a tough road to come back here and to get to this point. and it's just -- i missed it. >> reporter: winning the tournament looks like a long shot, but after the revelations of extramarital affairs, divorce, injuries and a lot of bad golf -- >> just totally out of sorts now

>> reporter: -- it sure looks like tiger woods is back. it was a 466-day layoff for tiger woods. now playing pain-free, and showing that he can go toe to toe with some of the best golfers in the world. cecilia, he's got to be feeling good tonight. >> i'm sure he is. ron, thank you. and there is much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday. passengers on a flight to pittsburgh got a serious scare. >> yeah, we'd like to make an air return to boston. >> why this jet blue pilot was forced to make an emergency landg. and the fatal bus crash in texas carrying cheerleaders from a high school football game. so, why didn't the bus have any seat belts? and what is going on in philadelphia? no, that is not snow. we will tell you what all that white stuff is when we come back. go, go! [ rock music playing ] have fun with your replaced windows. run away!

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that state, one of the few that requires buses to have seat belts. so, why didn't this bus have any? here's abc's adrienne bankert. >> reporter: tonight, tragedy on a texas highway. a school bus full of cheerleaders and an 18-wheeler collide. the team heading home following a football playoff victory. it happened on interstate 20 near midland, texas. the front of the ira-an sheffield bus crushed. 52-year-old liz castaneda-pope, killed. her sister, the driver of that bus, remains in critical three cheerleaders are still hospitalized with multiple injuries. the vehicle they were riding in had no seat belts. this crash test showing how dangerous that can be. few buses allow for children to buckle up. the consequences, tragic. just three weeks ago in tennessee, six students killed. 20 injured, when the driver of this school bus plowed into a mailbox and a light pole. and dramatic video of this

>> seat belts unquestionably save lives. >> reporter: only six states require school buses to have seat belts, including texas. but so far, there's no state funding. cecilia, we're learning tonight, the semi-truck driver did cross over the median to avoid hitting a vehicle right in front of him, striking that bus. the bus driver had no time to avoid being hit. cecilia? >> adrienne, thank you. coming up, an emergency landing for a packed passenger jet. and a health scare for hundreds of vets at hospital. why one dentist is to blame. rni, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet... ... kicked off a lot of high school games... ... built a life for my family... ... and liked to help others in need. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda-approved to treat this pain, from moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or

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return to the airport and make an emergency landing after multiple bird strikes. >> yeah, we'd like to make an air return to boston. we believe that we struck a number of birds right at liftoff. >> the flight landing safely back at logan airport. no injuries were reported. and in wisconsin, a massive health scare at a v.a. hospital has put hundreds of vets at risk. as many as 600 people potentially exposed to hiv or hepatitis by a dentist who did not follow proper sterilization procedures. that dentist has resigned. he could face criminal charges. and a wild scene in philly. no, this is not a blizzard. it did not hit the city of brotherly love today. that is foam after a fire at a power plant station. the street there flooded with the white stuff. and up next, an expectant mom at home when she goes into labor. her frantic call to 911. >> i think i feel the head. >> so, who showed up first, the

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finally tonight, an expectant mom, at home when she went into labor. no time to get to the hospital. here's abc's john donvan with what happens next. >> reporter: meet 3-day-old kennedy bennett of houston, texas. born while her mom was talking on the phone. literally. >> is anyone else on the phone with you? >> no. >> reporter: the dispatcher on that 911 call just before 3:00 a.m. was renae whitehouse. all she knew was the woman on the other end of the phone was on her living room floor and feeling contractions. well, more than that. >> okay, you need to feel down there and see if you can feel anything.

>> reporter: now, the woman on the sofa, this is here, kioma, hate had given birth before. she's not panicking. she called pretty confident that help would soon be sent. >> i unlocked the door, just in case i was in really bad pain, which i was, and i couldn't get up when the emt came. >> reporter: meanwhile, this starts happening -- >> now apply firm but gentle pressure to keep the baby's head from delivering too fast. >> reporter: and then, all of a sudden, this -- >> let me know when the baby is completely out. >> the baby's out. >> okay. it's completely out now? >> reporter: yep, the kid had arrived, a few minutes before the emt crew. happy ending and a story for everyone's lifetime. hers, hers and hers. john donvan, abc news. >> brave mom and a beautiful baby. thank you for watching. "gma" and "this week" in the morning. i'll see you back here tomorrow night.

[captioning made possible by wisn-tv] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: now on wisn 12 news. adrienne: here comes the snow. the first measurable snowfall of the season is on its way, and it could cause some slippery roads. we begin in the weather center where li storm. ,sheldon: lindsey, the snow arrives tomorrow morning. lindsey: we are talking accumulations this time. some areas had a few inches two weeks ago. we did not get measurable snow in milwaukee. this will be happening, moving in right now, off towards iowa and moving in.